*4.2. Chemicals and Reagents*

Xanthan gum with a molecular weight of around 500 kDa, glycerol, ethanol, methanol, potato dextrose agar, peptone, nutrient agar, plate count agar, and chemical reagents were obtained from Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, MO, USA). Trichloroacetic acid (TCA) and thiobarbituric acid (TBA) were procured from Sigma-Aldrich Chemie GmbH (Eschenstr, Taufkirchen, Germany). Stomacher was obtained from Lab Blender 400 (London, UK). Violet red bile glucose agar (VRBGA) was obtained from Trafalgar Scientific Ltd. (Leicester, UK). Potato dextrose agar (PDA) was purchased from Biokar diagnostics (Allonne, France). Man rogosa sharpe agar (MRS) was purchased from Oxoid Ltd. (Basingstoke, UK). Sorbitol-MacConkey agar (SMAC) was obtained from Merck (Darmstadt, Germany).
